Objects in Place
by fang1
Summary: It's a compilation of character studies done through objects and their placement, basically. Focuses on House, Wilson, and Cuddy.
1. Default Chapter

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Objects in Place (1?)

finickyfeline2

Rating: Um...pg, I guess.

AN: This started out as a drabble and kind of spawned. It's a compilation of character studies done through objects and their placement, basically. I wrote it before "DNR" aired, so some details may be non-canon.  
Disclaimer: The characters and setting from House, M.D. do not belong to me. However, Cuddy's dried fruit is mine.

Dr. House always has his Vicodin and his cane. He keeps his keys in the desk, to resist the temptation to leave. Other things in the desk include an old pair of Wilson's glasses (House doesn't know how they got there, and he hasn't bothered giving them back to his friend because Wilson wears contacts now.), a few pencils, pens, and a stray notepad. There is not a single lab coat in his office. His first stethoscope is in the bottom right hand drawer, but he hasn't used it in years and he rarely remembers its existence.

There is, unfortunately, a phone in the office. The answering machine was unplugged at first, but when House found he could not unplug the phone as well, he decided to use it to his advantage. His message: "I'm not here - well, I probably am - I just don't feel like answering the phone. Leave a message if you must."

He also has a bouncy ball and a portable TV monitor, things that he brought from home to entertain himself during the dull moments. They belong in his bag or in his hands, not in the desk. As do his Gameboy, his wallet - everything he has is portable. So one day, he could just leave and never come back for the things left behind.

Dr. Wilson feels very attached to his desk. On top: a picture of an ex-wife smiling; a vase that once held flowers from a grateful patient; take-out menus for himself, his staff, and House; half-used water bottles; a stuffed bear or mouse, depending on perspective, that belonged to a former patient; markers and stainless steel pens, and a stack of coloring/activity books for the youngest patients. The nurse who had charge of the books left two weeks ago and entrusted them to his care. They are now pinned down by a bulky medical reference book and in danger of being forgotten. Not knowing the desk belonged to Wilson, one of the staff members had placed a bowl of fish with the other items. The oncologist admired their colors too much to ask for it to be removed. Besides, he thought, it filled up the formerly empty space perfectly.

Wilson had a phone. He doesn't know where it went, but people seem to have no trouble reaching him by person or by his beeper.

In his desk are a stack of post-it notes of various colors, a glasses case (which he hasn't thrown out yet because there's still a chance he might find his glasses), and hand disinfectant. As a sort of homebase, his desk isn't visited for longer than 15 minute intervals. Wilson tends to stay in House's office on longer breaks.

In the top drawer of her desk, Dr. Cuddy has a prescription for progestin, packages of whole grain cereal and dried fruit, a stress ball, black and blue pens of the same make, a highlighter, an inhaler that she uses on very rare occasions, and mocha-flavored caffeine chews that she has promised herself to stop taking soon. Her first stethoscope is stored in the second drawer on the left, and she looks on it lovingly whenever she opens that drawer for her Altoids.

On her desk are the latest issues of New England and Mid-Atlantic based medical journals; her sparkling-clean glasses; and a phone and answering machine, both in regular use and a polite message recorded on the latter. In her bag are a book by Raymond Chandler and her cellular, which remains off throughout the day.

Dr. Cuddy spends a lot of time in her own office. It is carpeted and well-furnished.


	2. Objects in Place 2

Objects in Place (2/3)  
finickyfeline2

Disclaimer: The characters and setting from House, M.D. do not belong to me.

Rating: PG

AN/Summary: A compilation of character studies done through objects and their placement, basically. I wrote it before "Histories" aired, so some details may be non-canon. This one focuses on the ducklings.

Chase, Cameron, and Foreman own lockers, where they store their personal belongings. During the day, visits to the lockers are infrequent and mostly for practical items such as headache medicine, tampons, and a change of clothes when necessary.

On the top shelf of Chase's locker are breath mints, sunglasses, and a Princeton Tigers baseball cap. The latter two were used during a two day stint of warding off the attraction of a young female outpatient. Foreman made fun of him to no end for his feeble disguise.

He hangs his black leather coat on the back hook. Its inside breast pocket holds an old ID card from his university days. Chase hasn't used the pocket nor the ID for years now. The right side pocket always has change for parking meters and vending machines; it is refilled nightly.

His wallet is in the main pocket of his bag, buried under a sweater. An inconvenient place for a wallet, but it keeps him from impulse buys and protects against potential locker-intruders. A few Bic pens and a comb line the outside pocket of the bag, and his keys are in the small front pocket. The key chain is a souvenir from a brief trip to Tallahassee, Florida where he had considered doing his fellowship. In addition to keys, it holds a tiny flashlight that has come in handy recently. (Three weeks ago, the streetlamp outside of his apartment building stopped working. It hasn't been fixed yet.)

Cameron's locker is between the lockers of her two colleagues. True to the myth of the over-packing woman, it is the most filled of the three. It holds lipstick, lip balm, a travel-size bottle of Vaseline Intensive Care lotion with aloe, a small bottle of cleaning solution for her glasses, black markers, items of feminine hygiene, 37-cent stamps depicting a yellow-hued sailboat in a mild blue body of water, a colorfully striped winter hat with a fuzzy ball on the top, a matching scarf, a long back coat, a small stuffed cow that moos (she had meant to donate it to the toys drive during the holiday season), and two volumes of Nancy Drew books (She had loved them when she was little and plans to give them away to the upcoming book drive in February). The only item that remains in her bag consistently are her keys and wallet, the latter of which includes little cash, a picture of her family, gift cards, credit cards, membership cards, card of every type imaginable - except for her hospital ID card, which she carries on her person.

In the mornings, a mug is hung on the left hook (she usually finishes her tea on the way to work). In the evenings, she runs after work. Her MP3 player is always in her bag when not in use on those runs, and the tracks include Hope by Twista, Dare You to Move by Switchfoot, You by Switchfoot, Run Away by Live, A Sorta Fairytale by Tori Amos, Down So Long by Jewel, Vivaldi's Mandoline Concerto in C major, and Pachelbel's Canon in D (used only when stretching).

Foreman's locker is the sparsest of all lockers belonging to fellows at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. It usually holds only his bag, coat, and a scarf on cold days. The rarely opened bag contains a change of clothes, keys, a schedule book, and his wallet. A few paperbacks line the bottom of his bag. They were meant to entertain him during free hours, but he soon found upon arrival that this job was different from his previous one - the few dull moments are meant to be savored by doing nothing, chatting with colleagues.

His car holds everything else: an umbrella, CDs, and a box of Kleenex.

They all have cell phones to contact each other and Dr. House.


	3. Objects Displaced

Objects Displaced

finickyfeline2

Disclaimer: The characters and setting from House, M.D. do not belong to me.

Rating: PG

AN/Summary: So you've read the character studies done through objects and their placement, for the docs and the ducklings. Let's see what's changed.  
After Detox, Histories, and all those other episodes that came before.

Dr. House's Gameboy ran out of batteries. He couldn't recall if he left the gadget in a drawer in Exam Room 1 or 2. It was an older model, anyway. TV and patients were more fun. He misplaced his bouncy ball and has taken to holding one of the bright red mugs from the cafeteria. It is approximately twice the weight of the ball. He likes the feel of the solid mass in his hand; it is something to squeeze furtively when the pain gets bad.

Two items have taken up permanent residency in his office: a battery recharger and an emergency bottle of Vicodin.

At the request of his staff, House carries his beeper with him everywhere. The original request had been for a cell phone; they complained that he did not answer his phone often enough. House reasoned that he could avoid calls on a cell phone just as well by turning it off. Chase reasoned that he'd want to know about the progression of a case even when he's away from his office. House relented and settled for the only form of constant contact he was willing to have: a beeper. It's small, light. He can answer when he chooses.

(House already had a cell phone. He uses it only for out-going calls.)

Dr. Wilson has a new cellphone. It was about time he got a new one, and it was most opportune that he had dropped the old one into a pot of steaming fresh coffee.

Wilson: Oh...shit!  
House: How did you manage that?

The water bottles on Wilson's desk have been disposed of. House had sniffed that he was building bacterial colonies in those bottles, and he knew his friend was right.

One of the fish died. The other remaining in the bowl got fatter, because the person taking care of them didn't adjust the amount of feed to the decreased population. The medical reference book is now on the shelf of a colleague in oncology; the coloring books were uncovered. Any day now, they'll be making their way to the pediatrics ward.

The vase on Dr. Wilson's desk now has pink carnations. A patient had sent them to the three members of Dr. House's staff on as a gesture of thanks. Neither Foreman nor Chase wanted to keep them. Cameron did, but she had no office space for them, and she didn't feel it was proper to take them home because they were meant for the team. She put them on Dr. House's desk.

House felt that the carnations did not match the rest of his office, especially due to their effeminate color. So he told Wilson to take charge of them.

Wilson kept meaning to take the flowers home but somehow always forgot about them at the end of the day. Now, they're slightly wilted and unworthy of his wife. Besides, it was past Valentine's Day anyway.

Dr. Cuddy has replaced her mocha-flavored caffeine chews with mocha-flavored calcium chews bit by bit. The calcium chews feel less smooth, but they are healthier and do not require a follow-up mint.

She keeps her inhaler on her person now. After seeing a documentary on respiratory diseases, she questioned herself. Is it wise to keep my inhaler in my desk? What if something happened on the way to work? The fear is irractional because A) she works in a hospital B) she is a doctor and C) she hasn't had an attack in 9 months. But still...it's better to be safe.

The Chandler book is still in her bag. She hasn't had a chance to finish it.

Cameron has a few new songs on her MP3 player - Alive by Edwin, bells for her by Tori Amos, Girl by Tori Amos, Run by Collective Soul, Forgiveness by Collective Soul, and See you when you're 40 by Dido. Her lotion had run out, and she replaced it with a bottle of Bath and Body Works' Toasted Hazelnut.

In addition to a new coat (dark gray, silk blend lining), Foreman's locker contains a sketch of himself and Victoria's book of drawings. He keeps them on the top shelf, the loose sketch weighed under the book. He hopes to find a relation of hers, so that he may give her book to that person. It is the only remaining belonging, he would say to the relative, neglecting to mention the bag that smelled of vomit and the pictures he and Wilson left at the house.

Foreman lent his paperbacks to Chase.

Nothing in Chase's locker has changed. The paperbacks are in the lab.


End file.
